1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a plurality of contacts configured for receiving and mating with ball-shaped counterpart for low profile application.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional electrical connector electrically connecting a central processing unit (CPU) to a printed circuit board (PCB) disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,517 issued to Ma on Aug. 29, 2006 comprises an insulating housing defining a plurality of passageways extending therethrough and a plurality of terminals received in the insulating housing. Each terminal has a vertical plate-like base portion received in the passageway for retaining the terminal in the insulating housing, an elastic arm bending upwardly from one side of the base portion and a soldering portion bent downwardly from the base portion. The elastic arm extends beyond the top surface of the insulating housing and forms a contacting end at a distal end thereof for contacting with a conductive pad of the CPU. The soldering portion is perpendicular to the base portion and soldered to the PCB through a solder ball to achieve electrical connection between the electrical connector and the PCB. A plurality of protrusions extend outwardly from two sides of the base portion and engage with sidewalls of the passageway to stably retain the terminal in the insulating housing.
With the trend toward high-speed input/output and miniaturization in computer technology, the electrical connectors are required to become more smaller while the density of the terminals are becoming more bigger. Due to the height of the terminal, the electrical connector has a high profile which does not meet with requirement for miniaturization.
Hence, it is desirable to provide an improved electrical connector to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages.